Running From Love
by The Fellow Marauder
Summary: Ryo transfers out of the 27th precinct, telling Dee that he can not stay with him any longer; Ryo then leaves for Chicago. After Dee tries to get him back, will Ryo still sing the same tune? Please R&R!
1. Transfer

This story idea came from watching a re-run episode of _Crossing Jordan_ a few weeks ago, and the first chapter is inspired by one of (very few, I am sorry to admit) good FAKE fanfics on this site. I hope you like it!!! It's full of angsty love and drama. ::feels special:: Gotta love it. Haha.

FYI: This takes place before the last act in the last manga. So forget that part ever existed, mmkay?

I do not own FAKE, FAKE (officically) owns me.

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"Good morning, partner." Dee smiled, walking up to Ryo who was sitting at his desk. Ryo was behaving a little strangely, spacing out instead of diligently working. Leaning down, Dee attempted to place a solitary kiss on his partner's cheek. Ryo chose that time to snap to attention and pushed Dee away before the kiss could be planted. Taken aback, Dee looked at his partner strangely. "What's up, bud?"

"No-- nothing." Ryo said, refusing to meet the dark-haired detective's eyes. Standing up, the flustered cop (Ryo) muttered, "I have to... uh... go do something." With that, Ryo left the office, leaving a baffled detective (Dee) behind.

Once Dee had regained his composure, he looked over at Ryo's desk. He pulled up his lover's chair and looked at the paper's sitting on the top of the pile. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Just some past case files and scribbled in notes made by Ryo. Shifting through the paperwork, one set of papers seemed to catch Dee's eye. Reaching out for them, he pulled them out of the concealed hiding place and skimmed down. His body seemed to stop functioning. His jaw dropping open, his lungs seemed to stop breathing, his heart felt like it had stopped beating. He was consumed with horrified shock. What he held in his hands signified the end of his life, in his eyes. It would have been just the same if he held his own death certificate. When he could move again, Dee rushed out of the office, taking the papers with him.

"And that's the schedule." Berkeley finished.

"Sounds reasonable." The "badger" chief nodded his head, placing his hand on his chin. "I'll run this by the rest of my squad and get back to you."

"Alright, then." Berkeley agreed. The meeting between the commisioner and the chief was abruptely drawn to a close when the door was slammed open.

"BADGER!!!!"

Angered by the constant nickname and the fact that his meeting had been interrupted, the chief growled at Dee, his eyes narrowed. "Laytner! Don't call me that!"

"Maybe..." Berkeley suggested, rising up from his chair and leaving the office slowly. "I should take care of this schedule myself, chief." He was about to leave the room when Dee stormed in the office, up to the "badger" and slammed the papers he had stolen from Ryo on the chief's desk.

"Why the hell does Ryo have transfer papers, huh?!" He demanded.

"What!?" Berkeley asked in horror as he spun to face the chief as well. The old man was backed against the wall, both figuratively and literally. Placing his hands up in surrender, he could say nothing to get him out of that situation alive.

"Why are you sending him away? Are you not satisfied with his work? Cuz he's the best damned cop here!" Dee yelled. It was through all this commotion that the chief understood why Dee was coming after him and not Ryo.

"You think _I_ gave him the papers? You think I am making him leave this precinct?" He inquired in annoyance.

"What else is there to think?" Dee snapped. "Tell me why you're transferring him!"

"I'm not!" The chief spat back venomously. "He wanted the transfer!" Both Dee and Berkeley froze at the news, their eyes opened wide and their pupils dialated.

"Wha-- what?" Dee finally managed to choke out. The chief sighed heavily and dropped his head.

"He wanted the transfer." He repeated.

"Why?"

"Ask him! I have work to do!" With that, he pulled the two men out of his office and pushed them into the hallway before slamming shut his door. Berkeley was upset, but knew he could do nothing about Ryo's ultimate decision. Therefore, he went to do what he set out to do in the first place. Dee leaned against the wall and sighed heavily. Still shaken up, he let the papers fall from his hands and land on the floor with a flutter. He still could not believe it. Why did Ryo not tell him?

After Dee's shift was over that night, he went over to Ryo's place instead of going home. Knocking on the door, he did not get an answer from within. Dee narrowed his eyes and pounded his fist against the entrance to Ryo's apartment. "Let me in, Ryo!"

"I'm not going to, Dee." He heard Ryo's voice from within. Dee growled. Pounding on the door harder, he yelled,

"Dammit, Ryo! Lemme in already! I have to talk to you!"

"I don't have to talk to you!"

"Just let me in, you catty bitch!" He screamed. That remark worked as planned, causing Ryo's angered emotions to get the better of him and he opened the door to yell at Dee.

"I am not a catty bitch, you dick!" He yelled. Before he even knew it was happening, Dee had pushed Ryo back and gotten into the house. Ryo remained silent for several moments until Dee had locked the door behind him. "I'm gonna call the police, Dee." Ryo threatened, his eyes narrowed in anger. "I told you I did not want you in here."

"No, you said you did not want to talk to me." Dee pointed out. "And I _am_ the police, genius."

"You're trespassing."

"I'm your parntner."

"This is not your house."

"But I stay here all the time and I have a key to it." Dee pointed out. He then sighed heavily and shook his head, stopping the futile arguement that the two of them were having. He knew that Ryo was avoiding the subject and he would not let that happen. "Ryo," Dee said slowly. "Tell me why you're leaving." This statement caught the light haired detective off guard. Sadness and guilt consumed Ryo as he looked down and avoided his gaze. Turning around and walking into the livingroom, Ryo said nothing. As Dee watched his retreating back, it was not until later that he noticed all the boxes around the room, now that his attention was not placed solely on Ryo. "Shit. You're really serious about leaving, aren't you?" He asked his partner, but once again received no answer as he disappeared into the livingroom. Dee followed him. "Ryo?" Ryo still ignored him and collapsed onto the couch. Getting annoyed, Dee marched over to him and sat beside him. "Answer me, dammit!"

"I'm leaving the precinct." Ryo stated quietly.

"I know." Dee said unnecessarily.

"I'm moving away."

"Where?"

"Chicago." Dee's mouth dropped open.

"Chi-- Chicago...?" He repeated, getting a nod of the head from his partner in response. "Why?" To that question, Dee did not receive an answer. He tried getting more information out of him a different way. "Maybe I could go with you." He half-joked (meaning he was half-serious). Ryo shook his head.

"No, Dee."

"Why are you leaving then?" Dee asked, feeling his heart break. In the back of his mind was a voice that was yelling at him to stop asking questions. This voice had the cooperation of the sickening coldness that engulfed Dee's stomach. He knew he was about to hear something awful.

"There are too many painful memories here." Ryo stated, sounding like a mysterious jester.

"Like your parents?" Dee asked, thinking that as the only one. He knew Ryo was still pained and haunted by it. But Ryo shook his head in response.

"There's that," he admitted. "But... there's something else as well."

"What?" Dee asked as that warning voice in his head screamed louder and echoed in his ears.

Ryo looked up and finally met the eyes of his fellow detective, who looked back at him in much confusion. "It's you, Dee. I... I can't be around you..." Dee was shocked. He felt his heart shatter as if it was shot through with a pistol.

"Why not?" Dee choked out, trying with all his strength to hold back the tears that threatened to spill out of his eyes.

"Because I don't love you!" He cried, his emotions and stress taking over him. He jumped up from the couch. "You love me so muich and I can't return your feelings!" Tears washed like a wave down his face. "I can't handle hurting you anymore, Dee! I just can't do it! Without me around, you can be free to fall for someone else! Someone who _can_ love you! I can't stay here. I can't stay with you."

Dee narrowed his eyes. Walking up to the man he loved, he placed his hands on his shoulders, pulled him roughly closer and kissed him. He felt Ryo's tears spalsh on his cheeks as they kissed. Ryo struggled and finally managed to push Dee away. "Don't!" He exclaimed, crying even harder. Dee was still in an irreversable state of shock. "I'm so sorry, Dee." He said quietly before he rushed out of the room. He ran to his bedroom to lock the door. Dee let himself out and left Ryo's building for good. It was not until he did leave that the full reality of the situation struck him. He leaned against the side of a building across the street from Ryo's apartment complex and he clutched his chest. Tears leaked from his deep green eyes, splashing to the feet below him like suicide bombers. The dairk-haired detective could not breathe. He could barely move. All he could do was stay in misery, unable to connect with the world around him. He had been officially dumped.


	2. Diana Helps Out

It had been nearly a month since Ryo had left for Chicago and left Dee behind in New York. Dee had not found a new person to fill up the void within his life. In fact, he was not functioning enough to go to work, much less find some other romantic interest. He was on the verge of getting fired, and it was more serious than the times the chief had only threatened it. When Dee did show up, he was zoned out and it seemed like the littlest thing made him cry. He actually did cry over spilt milk in the break room, two weeks after Ryo had left. He was unstable, irrational and not at all dependable. Therefore, when the chief had found a new partner for him, he pulled Dee into his office directly.

"Laytner," the chief addressed him. "I want you to meet your new partner." As if on cue, the new employee of the 27th precinct walked in. Dee looked up, his mind completely out of it. Standing by the door, was a gorgeous woman with long flowing crimson hair and a nice figure. Her dress was a soft palat of blue which was clinging to the curves on her body. Normally, Dee's eyes would have been bulging out of their sockets (as the chief's were that moment), but he was too heartbroken to care. Settling himself down, the chief finished his introductions. "Laytner, this is Claudia Goldstern."

"Hi." Dee said off-handedly. Claudia smiled down at him.

"Hello." That smile of hers had to ability to charm the most murderous manador, but seemed to bounce straight off Dee. Standing up, he walked up to her and shook her hand. "Welcome to the 2-7."

"Thank you." She tried her smile technique again, but failed. Noticing her powers were not working on him, she started to pout. Again, nothing. "Could you perhaps show me around the precinct, _Detective_ Laytner?" If all else fails, use the flattery technique.

"Uh... sure." He said, walking out the door and not even waiting for her to follow.

And if the flattery does not work, complain before giving up. She turned to the chief and was ready to whine about the failure of her charm when she saw a lustrous grin on his face. Apparently, her charms had a rebound effect. After bouncing off of Dee, they hit the chief and seemed to work on him. Claudia turned and sped off after Dee before the chief could make any advances on her.

That night, Dee was in Ryo's empty apartment, having broken in through the window. He could still vividly remember their first Christmas Eve together and the many times he had visited and they had kissed. Falling a solitary tear drop falling from his eye, he closed his green eyes and bowed his head. His heart never had the chance to mend because of how much time he spent thinking about Ryo. It was true that being with Ryo was painful, when he knew his feelings could never be returned. But he believed now that it was much more excrucitatingly painful to _not_ be with him. Even if it killed him to love Ryo, he still wanted Ryo beside him.

Having thought all those things, Dee collapsed onto his side on the floor and sobbed, clenching his fists tightly to dull some of the pain within his chest. Tears spilled, threatening to soak everything like a giant flood and still they commenced. He could do nothing to stop the pain within him; hell, he could not even _numb_ the pain within his heart.

"Ryo..." He mumbled through his crying. "Ryo...!"

"You're not Ryo. You're Dee." Came a joking voice a few feet from the collapsed detective. The "simian brat" had had a choice between staying with Ryo or Dee. He did not want to leave New York or all his friends, so he made the difficult decision of staying with Ryo's (now) ex-partner. Bikky walked up to Dee and looked down at him, sighing heavily. "Jeez, Dee. You should learn not to leak in this apartment. You could stain the carpets and then no one will move in here!" He had no effect on Dee. He was not hoping that Dee would laugh-- he was hoping Dee would yell at him. At least to give him some sign that he was going to live through this. After this much time, Bikky was not sure he would. Thus, Bikky took out the big guns. "Come on, you stupid copper."

Nothing.

"I'm gonna steal all your money!"

Nada.

"I'll take your car and crash it into a tree, causing you to pay $3,000!"

Zilch.

Bikky sighed heavily and placed his hands within his jean pockets. "No wonder Ryo left you." Bikky ducked, preparing himself immediatly for Dee's swing at him. It never came. After several moments, Bikky stood up again cautiously. He was relieved. That was an awful and tasteless thing to say, even for him. He was thankful that he had said it so quietly that Dee had not heard him. God only knew that Bikky missed Ryo as well. He was just not crying every night over it.

Leaning down, Bikky attempted to help Dee up. He then dragged him from the apartment and back to his own, hailing a taxi to do so. Dee went where Bikky led him, but he had no stamina. He did not care where he was being led, athough he mindlessly obeyed. Bikky could have shoved him off the Brooklyn or George Washington bridge, and no one would have been the wiser. Dee certainly would not have realized it.

After getting back to the apartment, the NYC detective went into his room and went directly to bed. He refused to even change out of his clothes or brush his teeth. He just did not care anymore. So Bikky did everything else for Dee. He put Dee's keys away and set his alarm in the morning for him, and took care of his own business before checking the messages on the machine. There was one from Ryo, which shocked Bikky. As he listened, he stared wide-eyed at the machine. The message said,

"Dee? Are you there? Well.... (sigh) I guess you aren't. I just wanted to check up on Bikky, really. Is he doing okay in school? He's not getting into fights a lot, is he? And you know he really loves tuna, right Dee? So if you wanna give him something he likes, get him tuna. (chuckle). I sound like a worried mother. Well... (sigh). I should go. Give my love to Bikky. And I want you to know that I'm still sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I am trying to make things better. Well.... bye. (click)." Bikky looked down at the machine, his hands clenched at his sides. He was crying as well, despite himself. Rushing to the bathroom, he muttered through his sobs, "Dammit! I promised I would not cry!"

_Friday, three days later... _

Diana Spacey made her way into the 27th precinct. She was met by Commisioner Rose. "Berky!" She smiled happily, bouncing up to him. Berkeley laughed lightly, giving her a quick hug which was uncharacteristic of him, but he did so anyway. "How have you been?" She smiled at him. He smiled back.

"Fine. Can you do me the favor, Diana?" He asked, skipping straight to the point. She nodded her head and smiled continuously at the man she had been in love with for years.

"Sure. I can do it for you, no problem."

"Good." Berkeley sighed in relief. "Because he is getting on my nerves."

"More than usual?" Diana joked.

"Yes. Ever since Ryo left, he has been a wreck! He won't work, he won't do anything! The chief even made an extra favor to get him a really hot new partner to get his mind off of Ryo, but he barely even _looks _at her!" He sighed once again, but this time in defeat. "I am just at the end of my rope, Diana."

"Understandable. But don't you worry. I'll sort this whole thing out, mmkay?"

"Thank you." Berkeley smiled down at her. "I really appreciate it." Diana nodded her head and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"You owe me." She stated before walking away to find Dee.

A half an hour later, Dee made his appearance at the 2-7. Although he was twenty minutes late, no one bothered chewing him out over it since he would not listen anyhow. He would completely ignore the person and walk right by. The chief had even given up yelling at him.

Dee walked into his office where Diana was sitting, waiting for him. She was reading a fashion magazine and sipping her third cup of decaf java that morning. She had been prepared to sneak up on Dee but gave up since he was so late.

"Oh, Diana. You're here." Dee stated monotonely as he took off his jacket and tossed it onto a spare chair at the side of the room.

"You're late, Dee." She growled. She closed the magazine and stood up, walking over to him. "Dee, I have to admit something."

"Are you going to tell me why you're here? Or, more specifically, why Berkeley sicced you on me?"

Diana was surprised. "How did you...?"

"I'm not that stupid. Whenever you show up, Berkeley is somehow involved." Diana had to admit that, despite Dee's Hamlet-like mourning, he was still very smart. She made a mental note to give him plus points for seeing through her excuse before she could even provide one.

"Well," She sighed, shrugging. "I don't suppose you know _why_ I am here? You know, to save the time in me explaining?"

"You're here because Berkeley wants you to make me stop acting the way I am."

Diana was impressed. "Well, Ms. Cleo," She joked. "Can you tell me what I'm having for supper, then?" All that got her was a glare from the NYPD detective. "Sorry." She apologized. "But, Dee, this is important. Your whole career is on the verge of failure and destruction because you are being so morbid. You have zero motivation, you refuse to show up for work and when you do, your preformance is mediocre at best. Now, I am not saying that your output was great before, but compared to then, you are a slug now. You have to do something to improve this, or else you are history and are flipping burgers at Mickey D's!" Diana was the only one to draw out a successful retaliation from Dee.

"SCREW YOU!" He screamed, narrowing his eyes so they shown as little more than slits. "I don't need you telling me what I should and should not do! I realize what I am doing and I do not care! I am in love with Ryo and he abandoned me! You have _no_ idea what that is like! So just shut the hell up!" He was about to storm out of the office when Diana stopped him with nothing more than her soft voice.

"I do know what it's like, Dee." She said, Surprised, he turned back to face her, his hand slowly sliding off the doorknob. "Don't you know? I am in love with Berkeley. When he moved here to be with this precinct, I felt like I was going to die too. I could not bare to be without him. I still can't. But I survive."

"How?" Dee asked, despite himself. Diana smiled and shrugged.

"It ain't easy." She smiled faintly. Sniffing, she raised her hand and wiped away the tears that were on her face. She laughed at her own situation. "Look at me." She mocked herself. "I am such a hopeless romantic. I just thought that I was over it. But I guess you never get over something like this." She recomposed herself and then smiled sweetly at Dee. "I have a plan. And even though it goes against everything Berkeley has asked me to do, I will do it anyway."

"Do what?"

"I'll help you get your Ryo back." Dee was stunned. He froze, unable to move a muscle. Diana chuckled.

"Re-- really?"

"Yep." She smiled once again.

"Why?"

She shrugged. "I guess I found my kindred spirit. And I want to keep him from doing the same thing I did-- which is never chase the man he loves." Dee was so happy that, before he even knew what he was doing, he hugged the FBI agent.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Dee. We'll fight to get that air-head back." Dee laughed, the first time in an entire month. Nodding his head, he hugged her again, not knowing what else to do to express how much he loved her at that moment. And, thus, they began to plan out how to get Ryo back to New York and back into Dee's life.


End file.
